Kobe Bryant Leads the Way as the Lakers Creep a Little Closer to .500

Five Nets and one Laker: Kobe Bryant slips through the defense of Brook Lopez and others for 2 of his 21 points.

Michelle V. Agins / The New York Times

By HOWARD BECK

February 5, 2013

The court was foreign to these feet, but the stage seemed just about right: dark around the edges, brightly lit in the center, with enough wattage to illuminate every ounce of Kobe Bryant’s brilliance.

Bryant had never danced across the Barclays Center court before Tuesday night, or tested its rims or measured up the backdrops or become acquainted with these newly arrived Brooklyn Nets fans.

In an instant, it seemed everything felt like home. Bryant drove, the lane opened. Bryant dunked, the crowd roared. And as the seconds counted down to a 92-83 victory for the Los Angeles Lakers, Bryant bathed in a familiar chant: “M-V-P!”

In a game with 18 lead changes, 6 in the fourth quarter, Bryant was at his best when it mattered most. He powered for a driving dunk over Gerald Wallace and Kris Humphries for an 82-80 lead down the stretch, sending the Lakers partisans in the stands into delirium. It was the loudest moment of the night.

The Nets regained the lead briefly on Brook Lopez’s 3-point play. But Antawn Jamison answered immediately with a driving layup, and Bryant delivered one more signature moment: a driving, twisting layup that helped power a 10-0 run to close the game.

The Nets (28-20) could only grit their teeth, pay their respects to one of the game’s greats and move on to Detroit, where they play the Pistons on Wednesday night. They have lost four of their last six games, their worst stretch since P. J. Carlesimo was installed as the head coach.

This was a game the Nets were expected to win, for all sorts of reasons, but mostly because the Lakers (23-26) were missing their two best defenders: Dwight Howard (injury) and Metta World Peace (suspension). They failed to take advantage, settling for jump shots and stagnant offense, shooting 34.8 percent from the field and turning the ball over 17 times.

“I’m not encouraged by anything I saw tonight,” Carlesimo said.

Lopez finished with 30 points and 11 rebounds, but even he struggled, going 11 for 25 from the field. The Lakers won the duel of All-Star backcourts, with Bryant and Steve Nash combining for 38 points, to 26 for Deron Williams and Joe Johnson, who were 9 for 28 from the field.

The Nets’ defense, led by Wallace, held Bryant to 9-for-24 shooting and 5 turnovers — a line that Carlesimo said he would have taken, if asked. But Bryant still finished with 21 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and the biggest cheers of the night, all despite a sore right elbow.

The victory was the Lakers’ sixth in seven games, a surge that has revived their playoff chances and temporarily restored some optimism. Bryant has led the resurgence by putting playmaking ahead of scoring. Except on Tuesday.

No play was bigger than his dunk over Humphries and Wallace.

“I was pretty shocked that the lane was so wide open,” Bryant said. “I think that everybody’s been drinking the ‘Kobe-pass’ Kool-Aid, so everybody kind of stays on the perimeter with the shooters. It just parted like the Red Sea. So I felt a little like Moses.”

The Lakers were the better team down the stretch despite losing Pau Gasol with 4 minutes 21 seconds to play. The Lakers said Gasol strained the plantar fascia in his right foot, but the injury could be more severe; Gasol said he heard a “pop.” He will have a magnetic resonance imaging test in Boston, the next stop on the Lakers’ trip.

Howard’s absence took away a primary story line: his belated debut in Brooklyn, months after the Nets abandoned their bid to acquire him. Lopez, who would have gone to the Orlando Magic in a trade for Howard, seemed to enjoy Howard’s absence.

Lopez blocked three shots, including a nice block of Bryant’s driving layup attempt midway through the fourth. But after another difficult loss, Lopez was one of many Nets blaming himself.

“I just feel those last two and half minutes were as bad as I’ve played, on both ends of the floor, all season,” Lopez said, pointing to his pick-and-roll defense and Jamison’s late layup.

Minutes later, Wallace volunteered to take the blame, for missing 7 of 10 field-goal attempts and failing to contain Bryant’s drives.

“For the most part, it’s on me,” Wallace said. “I didn’t make shots.” He added, “And Kobe made two big shots down at the end. And that’s on me, too.”

For the first time in many weeks — since the last time the Knicks visited — the Nets did not have a full-throated home-court advantage. Lakers fans were abundant and loud. Gold No. 24 jerseys dotted the stands.

Bryant heard as many cheers as boos during introductions, and brief chants of “M-V-P” (which were drowned out by boos) when he went to the foul line. A brief chant of “Let’s go, Lakers!” was followed quickly by chants of “Beat L.A.!”

If the stage seemed to suit Bryant, it made sense. Only two other arenas feature the stage lighting used at Barclays Center: Staples Center, where the Lakers play, and Madison Square Garden, where Bryant has long thrived.

“It’s kind of a good electricity in the air,” Bryant said approvingly. “I like playing here.”